Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer

Of course it depends on the country, but by EU rules, they would need to apply for an exemption from the rule. Which would need to be short notice sickness of a crew member that could not be replaced, or a similar type of reasons. And while they are pretty standard to get, I can't imagine FR. filing such exemptions without a better reason than we scheduled a bigger plane than planned, or we did not schedule crew for the size of the plane in the first place, as that certainly would be an exemption reasons.